Hi everyone! Thanks for the reviews.

Yep, most of this is from the manga. I just added some twist here and twist there. It's okay if you can't speak English well, as long as we understand each other. I, too, am not that good in English, so we're quits. : D

Thanks for chocolates, by the way. I'll try to make the chapters longer from now on.

Thank you people. Please continue on reading and drop me a review after reading, okay? I'll be waiting.

Enjoy!

: )

Night Six

Poker game was one Allen learned from Mana. It was when he was about seven years old, after months of travelling with the man.

"Stupid clown isn't just plainly stupid, but a wimp!" Allen grunted as he plopped down the bed in the room they were staying in for the night.

"It's not like I'm at fault." entering the room, Mana said as he settled the trunk down. Allen thought he was just simply stupidly crazy, but unfortunately, Allen found out that night that Mana was afraid of a fat man holding a kitchen knife. He noticed that Mana paled and was as if at the middle of remembering something when the fat man holding a knife, a chef, actually, approached them. Then, suddenly Mana backed off.

"What're you thinking when the chef came out of the kitchen?" Allen irritatedly asked.

After taking off his crisp, brown cloak, Mana walked up to Allen and ruffled his messy brown strands. Smiling, he said, "Nothing. I just remembered a horror- comedy show at the theater when I was young."

Allen didn't buy this. He glared at Mana, studying his face and searching for any signs that opposes what Mana said, but found nothing except that never ending smile.

"Stupid." averting his glare to the wall, Allen grunted.

"Hey, wanna play poker?"

The present time Allen smiled sadly at the memory. He didn't know how to play poker and it was Mana who taught him. Everytime whenever they were bored, Mana pulled out a deck of cards and challenged Allen, who never win even once, to play.

"How's your arm?"

Allen jumped, surprised at the sudden voice behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see mother staring back at him, hands clasped behind her.

"U-uhmm... I can move my arm just find, though it's a little numb. My only problem is my hand. I couldn't move my fingers well." he answered.

"I see. Well, if you're good enough I want to play poker with you. Good?"

"Good." he smiled and resumed on his rehab while mother watched his back for a moment before going out.

Allen never felt this good with anyone except Mana. Whatever he does to push Mana away was all futile for the man would just keep sticking with him like a leech.

"Well... I never think of him as a leech until now." he didn't know what was funny about it, but he chuckled lightly which turned out a fit of laughter when an image of stupid clown Mana in a leech outfit suddenly popped on his imagination. "Gawd, ahaha! It really suits him! Ahahaha!" his laughter died down eventually and replaced by sadness in his eyes. He missed the man so bad that he wanted to cry, however, he can't cry. No matter how sad he was just by thinking about the man that he could cry, but no tears come out.

Is this kid insane? Leaning on the door frame, arms folded, Cross asked himself mentally as he watched the kid smiled sadly, then laughed, and frowned. He really don't understands the train of thoughts of the youngsters specially Allen. He knew that the kid trusted no one, wasn't kind at anyone but rude, always isolating himself from everyone else, always shutting himself from the world so no one would see, discriminate, and hurt him yet he was an open book. You can easily determine if he was angry, sad, or happy and if he feels like crying he won't stop himself. He was very conscious of his surroundings, careful not to show his weaknesses thus putting that scowl on his face yet anyone can tell what was up on him even the most insane person can tell. If you squint, yes. In other words, Allen was a simpleton. But everything seemed to change drastically after the incident, after Allen recovered from his trauma.

His smiles were all genuine yet at the same time fake.

Cross noted that those smiles Allen showed, which were identical to Mana, were just a mask to hide the pain and convinced the self that everything's alright and there's nothing to be sad about.

"I don't really get him." Cross mumbled to himself and left.

Allen didn't fail to hear this. He halted his rehab and turned around to see Cross' retreating back. Confused to what Cross was talking about, he asked himself, "What does he mean? Was he talking about me just now? Oh, he probably saw me laughing with no particular reason.

oOo

"Baba, where shall I put this?" the petite white haired kid carrying a bucket of water, asked. He wore a simple thin maroon long sleeve, khaki shorts, and a pair of worn out gray shoes.

"Just put it down there Allen ~! Thanks for the help~." the large man in a gardening outfit chimed; he was greatful of his little helper.

They were at the garden. Baba trimmed the red and white roses, daffodils, sun flowers, and many other varieties of flowers while Allen help on watering the plants. Little did they know, at the far right corner where no one would notice, stood a man with long vibrant red hair tied in a low ponytail in light pink dress shirt, black trousers, and heavy duty boots that reached just below his knees. He watched as the two were working together; Baba was telling the little boy something that made him laughed his heart out, but the man wasn't convinced at that laugh the kid had just showed. Sometimes he asked himself how it did happen though he already knew. He just can't think of anything that would tell him the reason behind.

The reason behind that façade.

It all started more than a month ago when the man found the child sat on the snow covered ground facing the gravestone one snowy night. He approached the unmoving kid casually. Looking down at him, he noticed that the left side of the child's face was covered in blood and what surprised him was that left eye. The sclera turned black and there were two rings of red replaced the silver pool. Then his gaze trailed down to where the child's left hand. It was wrinkled and blood red in color then, there was a green cross imbedded at the back of his hand, glowing.

"Hey, kid. How would you like to be an exorcist?" he asked when he kneeled on one leg.

The child, whose tears continued on flowing, stared at the man as if he was seeing nothing but oblivion.

The man carried him on his way back at the house where he knew will help him with the matter. He knocked on the door impatiently once he had reached the house and an old lady opened the door. She looked up to see the man carrying a heaving child on his arms. The man asked for a room so he can clean the child's wound and patched him up.

It wasn't that easy to help the little boy clean and patch his wound. He kept on screaming and thrashing while the man who brought him restrained his movements.

The old lady stood at the door and watch the man treat the wounded boy when a large man rushed inside carrying a bowl of water. They watched and listened at the horrifying screams of child while the man poured alcohol on his wound to disinfect it, cleaned it with wet towel, and sewed the wound to close. They thought the boy had calmed down as the screaming stopped until they realized that the little boy kept on thrashing like mad because of pain and his mouth was wide open as if screaming in agony.

The boy lost his voice.

"Cross." The man was suddenly pulled out of his thought when he heard a voice called his name. He looked over his left shoulder and turned around to face the old woman who called him. The woman looked at him sternly.

"What?" he asked.

"Are you really going tomorrow?"

"Yes. We have to. We cannot stay here for long. You know that." He said, talking about his debt collectors.

"I know. I am just concerned about Allen. I know it has been more than a month and his left arm isn't fully well, furthermore, I am worried about his mental state." At the woman's statement, the man, Cross, remembered the time when Allen had regained his voice and spoke for the first time after that fateful night.

He wasn't the Allen he knew.

"Don't worry about it mother. He'll be fine." He said as he tilted his head to the side and held up his head, staring at the vast blue sky. Then, he felt something wrong and so he looked back at the woman.

The old lady, mother as he calls her, glared at him with flames in her eyes.

"What are you glaring at?" he deadpanned.

"…"

"Anyway…" he sighed as he rubbed his temple. "Like I said, you have nothing to worry about the boy. As you can see, he is just fine the way he is now." but it bothers me, really. He added mentally.

The old woman stared at Cross' eyes for a moment, searching for anything that would guarantee her for the safety of the kid before she turned her back at Cross and went off somewhere.

oOo

"I'm done watering the plants Baba!" the kid informed the large man as he wiped the sweat on his forehead with his right arm.

"Thank you little Allen!" Baba, smiled and added, "Oh, Allen look at this!" Baba placed the scissors down as he crouched. Little Allen rushed to his side and look at where Baba was looking. What he saw made his smile widened and eyes sparked with life.

"Wow…" little breathed the word, astounded at what little thing he saw.

"Isn't it beautiful~?" Baba said.

It was a flower bud that Baba and Allen thought would never bloom. Baba told little Allen that that flower didn't bloom for almost two years, but now they had just witness its first bloom after a very long time.

"Like this flower, Allen will bloom beautifully." Baba said to himself, fascinated at the flower.

"What?" Allen asked.

"Oh! Nothing~ ahaha. Let's go inside?"

"Okay."

There you go.~

Thank you for reading.

Oh, by the way... someone asked me if I could make yaoi or shounen- ai? Well, I haven't think about it yet. I'm not really good in romance and I don't know what will happen to me should I write one. Will I pass out while at the middle of typing? Haha! Poor me. But if- if... you insist... maybe... just maybe, I can? Hn, it depends. Uhmm, maybe I can make one that is rated K+ to T. I don't know really.

Oh well. Whatever.

Thank you once again for reading~!

See you!

#CBA